Venetian blind



sept. zo, w32. J F RUDOLPH 1,878,186

VENETIAN BLIND Filed March 24, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

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Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT kol-Fl-cl:

JOEL F. RUDOLPH, 0F FORT THOMAS, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR T0 THE HIGGIN MANU- FAOTURNG COMPANY, OF NEWPORT',

VIRGINIA KENTUCKY, A

VENETIAN BLIND Application led March 24, 1928. Serial No. 264,372.

In the construction of lVenetian blinds there is usually provided as a support for the wooden slats composing the blind, two or more lengths of what is known as ladder This material consists of two interspaced and comparatively wide strips of woven fabric with integrally woven cross strips usually narrower than the main strips. These cross strips occur at regular intervals, and the length of them corresponds to the width of the wooden slats. When, therefore, the wooden slats are inserted in two or more lengths of this ladder tape and the lengths of tape hung vertically in a window opening, a Venetian blind is formed. By raising or lowering one side of the ladder tape with reference to the other side, the slats may be tilted more or less when desired so as to admit a maximum of light or to close the window opening completely as will be understood. At intervals the light wooden slats may be replaced by heavier ones which bear at their ends eyes or rings riding upon rods at the side of the window, the purposes of which are to guide the up and down motion of the blind. There are holes in the slats in line vertically, through which vertical ropes pass. These ropes are attached to the bottom slat or bar, and when they are pulled upwardly, they raise the blind progressively from the bottom upwards. As these ropes are pulled, the lowermost Slat rises until it strikes the next overlying o-ne, whereupon both of them rise until they strike the next `and so on. In this way the portion of the blind above is not interfered with and may be opened or closed in the manner heretofore described irrespective of the height to which it has been drawn up. The holes to admit the ropes through the slats are made large enough to accommodate the tilting of the slats without producing a binding of the ropes therein, and the ropes are generally run through the slats between the two portions of the ladder tape so as to be more or less hidden from view.

These features exist in Venetian. blinds as ordinarily'manufactured and it will be seen that there are Itwo adjustment-s necessary-to be provided for, namely, a movement of the ropes in raising or lowering the blind and a movement of the tapes in tilting the slats. Mv yinvention is concerned with means of providing for these two adjustments.

Hitherto provision has been made as follows: At the top of the window opening there is provided a heavy slat or wooden bar of the same width as the other slats. To either side of this the ends of the ladder tape are attached as by nailing. This bar is pivoted in bearings or hangersv on either side. On its under surface it bears pulleys through which the draw ropes pass so as to be carried to one side of the window, where a double or triple pulley is usually provided on the window frame. The ropes pass through this pulley and are brought down within reach of the operator, where they may be attached to a convenient handle. A fastening is provided in the window frame to which the ropes may be attached, holding the blind at any desired height. It will be clear that a tilting of the bar will cause a tilting of the tapes, and a corresponding opening or shutting of the blind, and to perfectthis two ropes are ordinarily provided attached to either side of the bar and passing through pulleys on Ithe window frame.

Means must be provided for holding the bar' in position when tilted to the degree desired. and this is usually done by causing a crescent shaped wooden member fastened to the bar The axis of this crescent is concentric with the axis of the bar to engage a spring so that the spring-may freely engage its surface with supposedly equal pressure in whatever tilted position the bar may assume.

Certain disadvantages are inherent in this structure. ln the lirst place the bar must sustain the entire weight of the blind, and where the`window opening is wide, the bar may sag, making the blind unsightly and interfering materially with its smoothness of operation. The bar will sag more when it is horizontal than when tilted, and there will be a variation of the pressure of the spring against the crescent shaped brake surface, such as may possibly cause slipping. Again the action of the brake will vary with weather CORPORATION 0F WEST vIl() conditions and with the tension of the spring, and there is no means of adjusting it except by taking the spring out and rebending it, or substituting a new one. To accommodate the tilting of the bar, sufficient space must be left between it and the top of the window, and this is likely in some circumstances to produce a light line7 at this point even when the blind is fully closed. The ropes passing beneath the bar are unsupported except by the pulley and tend to sag or become tangled. Finally the construction itself is unsightly, and gives the blind a somewhat uninishedappearance.

It is an object of my invention to provide at the top of a Venetian blind a bar member which will be stiif and will adequately support the blind without sagging even across a very wide window. It is an object of my invention to provide a bar which will have the appearance of finishing off the blind, which will 4be circular in cross section; which will not leave a light line, and which enhances the appearance of the installation.

It is an object of my invention to provide a braking means which is positive, which does not vary in its action with different positions of the bar, and which is readily adjustable.

It is another object of my invention to provide a means for tilting or rotating the bar which comprises a rope wound about it so that the operation becomes smoother .and is not subject as in the old type to a erking action such as renders an exact adjustment of the position of the slats a matter of some difficulty.

It is another object of my invention to provide a bar which will contain and conceal the draw ropes for raising and lowerin g the blind, and which will prevent these from sagging. It is still another object of my invention to provide a Venetian blind installation which is easily put in place in a window frame, and which does not require supplemental frames hung on eyes or pivots, and which will not rattle or bump against the' window frame from the action of the wind or the vibration of the building. t

The above and other objects to which referl ence will be made in the ensuing disclosure,

I accomplish by that certain Combination and arrangements of parts, of which I have illustrated a preferred embodiment.

In the drawings Figure 1 illustrates a Venetian blind embodying my invention, as fitted to a window opening.

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof with the window frame removed. l

Figure 3 is a view of a section of a slat.

Figure 4 is a transverse section through my bar.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the end of my bar, through which the draw ropes pass.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through my bar showing the mounting of the shaft and draw ropes.

Figure 7 shows the openings in the metallic section of my bar. j

Figure 8 is the rod support.

Figure 9 shows the rod.

Figure 10 is a transverse section through the Wooden portion of my bar.

In Figure 1 I have shown the ladder tapes 1, supporting slats 2. At intervals are shown wooden slats 3 bearing at their ends eyes 4, which ride along the rods 5 attached to the frames 6 of the window. A bottom slat 7, of somewhat heavier construction, is also shown. The ladder tapes are shown as attached at the bottom tothe bottom slat 7 by tacks 8, and at the top by tacks 9 to my bar, which I have indicated generally as 10. Draw ropes 11 are shown as extending upwardly between the ladder tapes and attached to the bottom bar 7, and in Figure 1, the blind is shown as partly drawn up thereby, dotted lines indicating its fully lowered position.

In order to provide an easily removable construction I mount my bars 5 in L-shaped brackets 12, which are more clearly shown in Figure 8. Holes 13 are provided for screws, and in the projecting arm of the L, I form a hole 14 and a slot 15. The bar 5 is shown in Figure 9. On its upper end it bears a head 16 which is larger than the hole 14, and portion 17 which will fit within the hole 14, and a neck 18 which will pass through the slot 15. At the bottom the bar is threaded as at 19, and a thumb screw is placed thereon having a section 20 corresponding in size to the section 17 at the top of the bar. The head portion 21 of the screw is larger than the section 20 and the threaded portion 19 is made of a size corresponding to the size of the section 18 in that both will pass through the slot 15. It will now be seen that in mounting my rods in the holders 12 (after having inserted the rods through the eyes 4) I slip the neck 18 through the slot 15 of the upper holder, and bring the rod down so that the portion 17 lies Within the hole 14 and the head 16 overlies the holder. Having done this I insert the bottom of my rod in the holder prepared for it, by unscrewing the nut 21 until I am enabled to pass the threaded shank 19 through the slot 15. Thereupon I tighten the nut 21 until the portion 20 eX- tends within the hole 14,. and my rod is now firmly fastened in place, and cannot be removed except by a reversal of the operations by which it was inserted.

My bar 10 is composed of a wooden section which may be seen in Figure 4 at 22, and the metallic section shown at 23. Both of these are semi-cylindrical in shape so that when they are placed together they will form a complete cylinder. In` Figure 10 it will be seen that my wooden section 22 is somewhat longer than one-half a cylinder. At either end of the diameter of the section 22 I pro vide small slots 24, and the portions of the wooden section extending beyond these slots are cut away slightly as at 25 to accommodate the thickness of the metal in the metallic section. A reference to Figure 4 again will show that I form my metallic section of a semi-cylindrical shape of sheet metal, with bent-over corners 26, which corners are placed within the slots 24. If now I'place over the ends of my cylindrical bar metallic or other cap members, it will be seen that the parts of my bar will be assembled in fixed relationship. One of these caps I have indicated at 27 in Figure 1, and again in Figure 5, which will be explained more in detail hereinafter. The

Wooden section of my bar lies on to and the i metallic section is below; and it wi 1 be seen that I have by this construction provided a truss-like co-operation ofiparts so as to give a very rigid bar. I have made bars of this character to support a long Venetian blind for a window eighty-six inches wide or wider,

' and I have found that they are peifectly rigid and. do not sag. Through the center of my cylindrical bar I run a shaft 28 which is shown in Figure 6. In Figure 10 it will be seen how the mid part of the underside of my wooden section is hollowed out as at 29 to form a bearing for this shaft, and the shaft itself is fastened into place by properly shaped straps of metal, with screw fastenings. One of these is shown at 30 in Figure 4, and another at 31 in Figure 6. -This shaft is used to support the bar, and th-e ends thereof protruding beyond-the ends 'of my bar, are supported in brackets 32 in Figures 1 and 2, which are similar to those brackets used in supporting the spring rollers in window shades. The ends of the shaft maybe flat-,

tened as at 33, so as to engage non-rotatably in the brackets, though this is'not necessary. The shaft is so mounted in the wooden section 22 as to be freely rotatable thereon, particularly when it is made non-rotatable in the brackets. Since the shaft is fastened along the member 22 by several brackets, it need not of itself be -stiff' enough to support the weight of the bar. This weight is supported by the ends ofthe shaft, which are stiened by the fastenersto the wooden section. It will be evident that I may use al continuous shaft if desired, or may mount in my wooden section a piece of shaft at either end thereof. However, I prefer to use a continuous length of Shafting because I find it convenient to mount on this shafting at the necessary intervals the pulleys for the drawropes.A These pulleys consist of pulley wheels 34 held in shackles or straps 35, which pass over the shaft loosely so that the pulleys are rotatably held on the shaft. The pulleys extend downwardly from the shaft, and it will be thus seen that as the bar is rotated the weight of these vpulleys maintains them ina horizontal position. In

Figure 6 I have shown a bar arranged for a Venetian blind, requiring two draw ropes. The pulley wheel 34 at the left hand side will be a single pulley wheel, accommodating the left hand rope. At 34a there is provided a double pulley wheel; one to accommodate the first rope and another to accommodate the right hand rope. I may also place along my shaft at desired intervals one or more supplemental pulleys to prevent sagging of the rope, or to better its feed, and I have shown one of these supplemental ropes near the end of the bar at 346. Reference to Figure 4 or Figure 10 will show a further characteristic of the wooden section 22 of my bar consisting of re-entrant grooves 36, which I provide for the passage of the ropes when the bar is in its most tilted position. For the passage of the ropes 11, I make holes 37 through the metallic section of my bar. These holes are oblong in shape so that the ropes may ride therethrough freely at all times within the limits of the tilting of my bar, and I have shown one of these holes in plan in Figure 7. Preferably about the edges of the slot I make a bead 38 in the metal so that the metal may present no sharp edges to the ropes passing through it.

Referring now to the caps on the end of my bar, it will be seen that the cap 27 shown in Figure 5 has throughthe end an orifice 39 through which the ropes will pass. The other cap 40 in Figure 6 has no such orifice but simply a concentric hole for the passage of the shaft 28'. Both caps have cylindrical sections 40a and are preferably of met-al. `They enhance the appearance of my bar and are. highly decorative, particularly when they are of polished metal, while the bar has a painted surface of a contrasting color.

Against the cylindrical portions 40a of one or both of my caps I apply a brake shown at 41 in Figure 1. This brake is a strap of metal shaped to fit the cylindrical section of the cap, and having two projecting legs; One of these legs is turned over as at 42 in Figure 2, and fastened against the upper window frame. The other leg is fastened to the first by means of a screw 43, and it will be seen that by tightening or loosening this screw, the bearing of the band 41l against the cylindrical section 40a of the cap may be made heavy or light as desired; and it will further be understood that the friction of this strap against the cap constitutes a brake and that the braking action thereof will be uniform in whatever p0- sition the bar assumes.

To provide for the rotation of my bar I preferably mount a double pulley 44 to depend from the top of the window frame, and through this pulley I pass the two ends of the rope 45. These are wound around the bar and fastened as at 46 by means of nails or the like to the wooden section, or the rope may be continuouslylwound around the bar in one length fastened in one place and the two ends passed through the pulley 44 as will be understood. The ends of this rope are brought ldown within convenient reach of the operator, and a fastening 46 (Fig. 2) may be placed upon the window frame for them. A similar fastening may be placed on theother side of the window frame for the ends of the draw rope 11. These I prefer to fasten to a handle 47 which makes a convenient grip for their manipulation since they ydo not have to move with respect to each other, but are pulled together. Further instead of merely leading these ropes out of the end ofthe bar, and caus-,

ing them to hang down thereover, I may, if desired, place a pulley upon the window frame 6 and lead these ropes therethrough. This construction provides a somewhat better operating condition since it prevents the ropes 1l from binding in the end opening 39 of the cap 37.

It will now be seen that by pulling or releasing the ropes 1l my blind may be raised or lowered, and that by manipulating the ropes 45 the bar l0 may be rotated so as to tilt the slats of the blind by raising or lowering one side of the ladder tape higher than the other. To prevent too great rotation I provide stops 48 in one or both of my caps. These stops abut the upstanding portions of the brackets 32, and are so placed on the caps as to permit the rotation of the bar 10 in both directions so as to completely close the Verre,- tian blind, but no further.

Various modifications of my invention will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of it; and it will be understood that I do not confine myself to the specific construction shown in the drawings. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a Venetian blind, a cylindrical top bar comprising a semi-cylindrical wooden section and a semi-cylindrical hollow metal section fastened together, a Shaft passing through said bar and extending beyond the ends thereof, said shaft mounted upon said wooden section, brackets supporting said shaft, said semi-cylindrical metal section having elongated holes to permit the passage of draw ropes, pulleys suspended from said shaft and lying within said metal section, caps on the end of said bar, brake means on at least one of said caps, stop means on at least one of said caps, at least one of said caps having a hole to permit the passage of draw ropes and means for rotating said bar.

2. In a Venetian blind, a hollow top bar to which are attached ladder tapes supporting slats, said bar comprising a semi-cylindrical wooden section and a semi-cylindrical hollow metal section, a shaft passing through said bar and protruding from the ends thereof, said shaft mounted in brackets whereby said i, thereabout, stop means upon at least one of said caps limiting the rotation of said bar,

means for rotating said bar comprising a rope wound thereabout, pulleys supported from said shaft, said hollow section having elongated holes for the passage of draw ropes, a pulley in one of said caps to permit the passage of said draw ropes, and draw ropes passing through said pulleys and attached to the lowermost of said slats whereby said Venetian blind may be raised and lowered.

3. A top-bar for a Venetian blind comprising an upper member of substantially halfcylindrical cross section and a lower member of substantially half-cylindrical shell shaped cross section, secured together tocomplete substantially a cylinder, said members being substantially of the same length, caps l fitting on the ends of the two members, and spindles for said bar at least partly supported by said caps.

4. A top bar for a Venetian blind comprising an upper member and a lower member, each of slightly more than half-cylindrical cross section, the upper member havin recesses in its corners and slots along and a ove the respective recesses, and the lower member being thin-walled and having flanges extend- .ing inward and fitting-in the respective slots,l

'the parts of the lower member adjacent to the flanges occupying the respective recesses of the upper member, whereby the two members complete a substantially smooth cylinder.

5. A top bar for a Venetian blind comprising an upper member and a lower member, each of slightly more than half-cylindrical cross section, the upper member having recesses in its corners and slots along andabove the respective recesses, and the lower member being thin-walled and having flanges extending inward and litting in the respective slots, the parts of the lower member adjacent to the flanges occupying the respective recesses of the upper member, whereby the two members complete a substantially smooth cylinder, caps fitting on the ends of the two members, and spindles for the bar extending from and at least partly supported by the respective caps.

J OEL F. RUDOLPH. 

